The story: A moral panic is brewing in Iraq after a follower of a little-known religious group’s alleged murder of two family members. In a widely publicized confession following his arrest, the accused claimed that the bloodshed was a ritual sacrifice to Ali bin Abi Talib, a cousin of Prophet Muhammad venerated by both Shiite and Sunni Muslims.

In the aftermath of the killings, and amid widespread coverage of the group’s unorthodox beliefs, observers have raised alarm over the growth in unorthodox spiritual practices among young Iraqis. 

The coverage: Iraqi security services on June 16 arrested a suspect accused of two murders in the southern...